Point: innocence and goodness

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Fred’s eyes “sparkled” as he arrived at Scrooge’s counting house “all in a glow”, which aligns with the motif of light within the novella. When Dickens uses descriptions of light, as seen here and with the “jet of light” emitted by the Ghost of Christmas Past, he is often symbolising innocence and goodness. This reflects onto Fred’s character, causing the reader to understand that he embodies these traits. In doing so, he presents him as an exemplary character whom readers should look up to.

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Fred maintains his optimistic outlook and positive traits throughout the novella, a quality which becomes the defining feature of his character. Despite Scrooge’s ill-mannered behaviour with Fred, he vows to keep visiting his uncle “year after year” to try and change his attitude. It could be argued that this adds a sense of much-needed stability within the novella. This is because by choosing to have the minor characters remain constant, Dickens heightens and foregrounds Scrooge’s transformation.

u c t k a m m b i a l

Dickens describes the “unlikely chance to know a man more blest in a laugh” than Fred, who clearly evokes the Christmas Spirit through joy and love. He is presented as a foil to Scrooge, which means that he contrasts his character in order to emphasise certain qualities. Therefore, by emphasising Fred’s goodness, Dickens amplifies the negative qualities within Scrooge. His character is first used to juxtapose the atmosphere in the opening stave. Dickens contrasts the bleak and miserable descriptions of the setting with the “glow” that Fred brings. This serves to both emphasise Fred’s virtue and cause Scrooge’s dismal attitude to appear worse. Consequently, Fred and Scrooge are presented as the antithesis of each other in the opening stave.

a d c, w a b m h w… b s h a l h

Dickens describes little Fan as “a delicate creature, whom a breath might have withered… but she had a large heart,” where the Spirit adopts a poetic quality in its language while describing Fan, using ethereal adjectives such as “delicate creature” and likening Fan to a flower through the verb “withered”. This mirrors the tone of a eulogy (speech which praises someone highly, particularly someone who has died) which ultimately elevates Fan’s character, as it is the God-like Spirits which hold this respect for her.